The Shepherd's Studio by DianeWhimsical Art Inspired by A Life Well Lived!

I started a 21 day raw diet to jump-start my immune system. My blood work came back far from perfect as it was 2 years ago. My immune system is under attack. Narrowing that down will come this week when I can chat with my doc. My CD 57 (which is a NK (natural killer cells/“cluster designation”) Lyme marker) was also VERY low (20) showing a chronic infection...normal is 60-350+. It looks as if Lyme is back for another fight!!! I beat it's butt once I can beat it again! I really don't feel as bad as a 20, but my bone pain has been extremely intense. My memory is lapsing. My ability to find words is difficult. (If you look at it in the most simplest terms, my cells are only housing 20 NK on each cell to fight for me...as opposed to hundreds if not thousands! 20 is not very good....I need an army of NK to fight for me as God intended!)

The CD 57 test is a pretty sure thing. It's not nearly as costly (although don't get me wrong...it is quite pricey, but insurance covers it in your plan) as some other Lyme test. But it's a dead on test. No question about whether it's a negative, positive or indeterminate as with the other Lyme tests. They've developed some wonderful CD tests. CD 4 is for HIV. Over 200 CD markers have been name so far! Wow!!! What an incredible body our Creator made!!!

I know when it started. It was June that I questioned if Lyme or it's cohorts were back including Bartonella which is Cat Scratch Fever....I get the claw marks on my thighs. And frankly (cause as you know that's the only way I roll) I think it was Spring Lambing that caused me to come out of remission if indeed that is what happened. Lambing was extremely stressful, emotional, draining for a 56 year old woman....who God never intended to have babies at this age! The every 2 hour routine all night was enough to kill me and I know that's when I started to tank. I'm glad I'm not lambing again....of course I am! I don't even have enough energy to accomplish all I have right now. BUT I am grateful that Winter is settling in and the pace of life is much much much slower! So, I will spend this Winter kicking the crap out of Lyme once again using food, herbs, supplements and Rife. I've done it once. I know it can be done.

I purchased the ebook from Young and Raw, for the 21 day raw cleanse. I'm finding it much easier then the juicing fasts I've done in the past under doctor supervision. By day 3 of nothing but juice, the hunger pains are so intense I can't even sleep. And for those battling Cancer, it is a required regime to jump-start the immune system. I get it.

This was my breakfast the other morning! It would of taken a lot of energy to digest all of this, but sending it through the juicer removes all the bulk and left me with a 16oz glass of nutritious & delish juice!

I wondered if it would be boring to eat nothing but raw....but it's not! There are boundless combinations that include protein and fats to balance the diet. Yesterday's lunch was a big salad with dressing made of Chickpea Miso, Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, Salt, Pepper, Nutritional Yeast Flakes and a dash ofChili powder. I didn't think I could stomach a salad without olive oil...but I can! Olive oil isn't in the 21 day cleanse....but it's one of my favorite oils on salad. (I'm not following their menu plan....but using it for guidance.)

Trying to keep it simple but also exciting......I made my guacamole dip for dinner and ate it with veggie sticks! YUM!!! A great way to end my 1st day of the 21 day challenge.

I'm still trying to focus on Anti foods; anti-inflammatory, anti-anaphylactic, anti-histamine. After work ing with those foods for the past 12 months, I'm doing exceptionally well, tolerating many histamine foods (avocado) that were off limits for me last year. Following the principles that The Low Histamine Chef teaches works....but it hasn't been enough to boost my immune system...of course I haven't been strict enough.

"Take comfort, I have overcome the world." ~Jesus"As a man thinks, so is he." ~Solomon

It takes great determination & courage to live in this moment not allowing the past to haunt us or to determine who we will be.

Courage: "strength in the face of pain or grief"

I learned a practice over two years ago that helps me to remain grounded and present. It allows me to just let it go...whatever "IT" is.

I put EFT off for over 6 years (because I couldn't explain it)....of course it's weird and I threw it in that bucket of weird stuff! (and let's face it....believers in Christ have LOTS of hang-ups over weird stuff!!!! "WE" tend to be some of the most stressed out, unloving, unforgiving, sick people on earth. Really? I don't think that's how Christ intended his Church to live.)

EFT; Emotional Freedom Technique. It's such a simple way to allow yourself to be free from your baggage. Some call it Tapping.

It's merely tapping meridians (Chinese Medicine) and repeating statements, affirmations or prayers. I do it both ways. Sometimes I'll tap before I eat making sure my body is in a good place to receive foods that could potentially kill me, all the while saying a prayer asking The Lord to open my body to receive the foods that I am about to feed it. Other times I'll allow something or someone to upset me....perhaps a memory...we all have them. I'll tap it away until my breathing is calm and well balanced. I can usually tell just by my breathing how I'm doing......of course it's been that simple fact of life that has almost killed me 3 times.

I always tap before going to sleep. I think it helps to clear my mind so I can relax and let it all go. And sometimes if I have an area of meridians that are very tender and sensitive, I will concentrate on that area. Many times it's the top of my head.

This is a great video with Nick Ortner explaining the "science" behind EFT/Tapping. He goes through a lesson on tapping correctly.

Wo....and another area of life to use Tapping in is The Law of Attraction! I know. Sounds weird. But The Law of Attraction is SO true.....in fact I would go so far as to say, Jesus taught the first lesson in The Law of Attraction.

Our emotions are made of energy. If it weren't true then why does stress cause heart attacks and strokes? Why do trapped emotions cause depression? Trapped emotions are killing us, keeping us from God's perfect plan for us.

Tapping helps you to release that which is keeping you from reaching God's best for your life. It could be your health, your emotional life, your ability to forgive, your ability to succeed in business, your ability to LIVE completely!!!

Go ahead and give it a try. Do you have panic attacks? Do you have asthma? Do you have pain from illness? Go ahead I dare you to try Tapping it away!!! Don't get hung up on what affirmations you say or prayers you pray. Just tap into your inner self allowing the Holy Spirit to unveil to you what needs to be removed, replaced, revitalized. If your mind goes to something when you are tapping...go with it. Begin a new affirmation, prayer about it.

All of us need words of affirmation. Words that are spoken to encourage, strengthen, and show love. Words that build up not tear down. Words that are spoken softly not with harsh rough edges. Words that speak truth.

Unfortunately most of us did not grow up hearing them. It's a daily practice that needs a constant reminder. So I painted a girl who is dressed in Words of Affirmation! With her belt of truth being JOY!

I for one, was not very good at speaking words of affirmation when my kids were growing up. As a child, I didn't receive them either. It's a cycle. But cycles can be broken. And it is never too late.

It wasn't really until the early 21 Century that words of affirmation were even brought to my attention. We studied The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman and one of the languages is Words of Affirmation. It was then, that my favorite word of affirmation became JOY!

Hubs and I went through some rough waters back then. So we began a steady course of learning each other's love languages and our kids. His are Words of Affirmation and Touch. Mine are Quality Time and Gifts. We began to study each other and offering our sacrifice of love. We began working hard at expressing our love in-spite of who we are. It was then, that I realized I wasn't very good at speaking words of affirmation. I was really good at complaining....SO, I set a path to change. Change is hard work. I'm nowhere near complete or perfect. But I am a changed girl today.

It was back then that Hubs would write me love letters (they are little gifts) and he would sign them, "You are my JOY!"

JOY is still my word today. It is something I aspire to every single day of my life. To not just find it but to live in JOY. God knows it's not easy sometimes. It's a choice I've made though. To find JOY!

CS Lewis in his book, Surprised By Joy says this about JOY;

"In a sense the central story of my life is about nothing else... The quality common to the three experiences... is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again... I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.”

"I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy.”

It's my belief that happiness and joy are nothing alike. Joy, true Joy comes from the Lord; The Joy of The Lord is my strength, He is the Joy of your salvation. Happiness is something I believe we create inside ourselves which all too often relies upon circumstances.

Choosing to live in JOY has allowed me to speak words of affirmation at a greater degree!

Every morning between 6:30-7am, a wave of blue sweeps in and dances among the sunflowers.

The bluejays flit from apple tree to sunflower capturing their morning breakfast. Unlike tiny yellow finch they cannot hang upside down for too long or gravity takes over. Kurplunk!

For a half hour the wave seems to take turns....unlike what the nature of a bluejay is normally like...selfish. But not as they prepare for a long Winter's rest.....they seem almost cordial toward one another.

As you go out and about preparing for Winter and for Christmas, don't forget to be cordial. A smile goes a long way! Give a stranger a reason to hope. Drop a few dollars or more in the red kettle. You will never know the story behind why that bell ringer is there.

Dad was a bell ringer. He loved people. He loved keeping busy. Blind with gangrene in his toes, pain and yes, dying he wanted Mom to drive him to ring the bell.

One. Last. Time.

He didn't last long....but he died ringing the bell.

Dad never made it home from the hospital after Christmas to hang the Corinthian Chimes I gave him, except with Hospice to die within 3 days.

His chimes hang in my veggie garden today, where I sing and find Dad dancing among the sunflowers.

I couldn't resist this picture....it brings tears to my eyes to remember the innocence of Sweet Annie and Charlotte. How precious they were as they slept safely in the arms of their shepherd while soaking up the sun.

"I am the light of the world"~Jesus

Why did he choose light? He could of said, "I am the Sparkle of the World" or "I am the Joy of the World", but no, He said, "I am the LIGHT of the world."

Did you see that? Light is one of the fundamental CONSTANTS of nature!!!! We associate light with the sun. Without the sun we would freeze to death and die. Without the SON we will die.

Many of us crave the light! I do. I crave the sun like others crave sweets! As soon as I can gather enough pennies, I'm going to buy one of Dr Mercola's Sun Lamps to hang on the back of my bedroom door so I can get my fill of sunshine during the 6 months of Winter we are having in Maryland these days. My acupuncturist and I were trying to analyze why I tank every Oct...actually every October 16...my birthday. And perhaps it's my "fear" of Winter. The dark days. The days without light. The Sun Lamp is my solution. I use to be SAD (seasonal affective disorder) but I don't get emotionally SAD, my health just takes a sharp turn South! My joy is still plentiful, my smiles a free to all who pass by....my adrenals just take a severe beating.

Lessons in Light

I am working VERY hard to understand the light and shutter thingie on my Nikon D40 (could be a D30....frankly I have no idea unless I look...yep, D40, I get confused with that blue can of spray in hubs workshop!)

When The Farmer's Daughter, who is a professional photographer and a rather GOOD teacher, was trying to teach me I was in a hurry and just wanted her to do it for me (isn't that just like a student child! ) . Now that she is gone from our nest, I'm on my own! I didn't mastered it in this session the other day. It was the flash that was getting me and she taught me to shoot on manual...not the sissy auto setting. She'd get so ticked when I switched to Auto for the simplicity and ease! She could always tell from the pics I posted....the eye of a true professional!!!

Lighting is very different on both settings. Manual gives you so much more depth....but as you can see....I didn't master it! It may of been easier to work on if I wasn't in the mirror....she would of told me to set up a tripod because no matter how hard we try we can't be still enough...as you can see. The slightest movement as the shutter is closing....fuzzy! (that's why I was holding it against my head...but I suppose my brainwaves were causing vibrations!)

2 years ago I'd never eaten an avocado let alone guacamole! I truly think it was a texture thing. I wonder where The Farmer's Daughter gets it from!

If you've never been struck down with sickness and food issues, you truly are doing something right! However, I am of the opinion that we all are living in fallen and broken bodies waiting for resurrection day to become whole and re-born in HIS image!!! Oh what a day that will be!!!

Avocado is a high histamine food, but I have not been avoiding histamine foods completely unless it really wants me dead. Guac doesn't want me dead! Yippee! It's one of those GOOD fats that my aging brain needs desperately!

I smash 1 or 2 or 3 avocado, mixing it with lots of finely chopped red onion (high in ANTI), red pepper (high in ANTI), a big handful of Cilantro chopped (high in ANTI), and 1/2-1 lime squeezed, salt & pepper. (I'm still avoiding the nightshade family...tomato makes joint pains worse....and this version is not lacking in flavor at all!)

Since I don't do any form of chip except an occasional bean chip, I spread it on sourdough bread.....and oh YUM!!! I ate 2 whole avocados yesterday! Couldn't help myself! It was SO good with my big dinner salad.

Diane

Current ResumeI am now a retired FarmHer of the most amazing creatures God created; Sheep!!! I loved every day I was blessed with Shepherding them. I now am focusing on my art and gardening and allowing The Lord to use it for His Glory. I designed and we are building The Shepherd's Studio on our awesome property and have NO idea what God will do with it....but It's His to use however He chooses. I continue to be ever so excited about health issues, food and fun! In my ongoing endeavor to find health and healing. We are enjoying our retirement days together seeking The Father together for whatever He has for us here in East Texas. We remain broken and poured out vessels for His purposes. We love our quiet and peaceful life here in The Piney Woods of East Texas.